(When) is there too much?
Sunday Night: 2 hours round trip to pick up catering equipment and load car
Monday: 3 hours training in college coffee shop, 5 hour shift at coffee bar, 5 hours catering
Tuesday: 4 hours with other job, 4 hours training with group of 20 and 1 hour cleanup
Wednesday: 3 hours training with other staff at college cafe, 5 hour shift at coffee bar, 3 hour meeting
This has been my week thus far. I still have a few days of regular coffee bar/ roasting work to do and a machine install on Friday Night.
Should a barista be able to have a grasp on all processes of coffee, or do we need to be narrowly focused on the craft of preparation? Should trainers just be trainers? Should baristas just work the bar? Should machine technicians just fix machines?
Monday: 3 hours training in college coffee shop, 5 hour shift at coffee bar, 5 hours catering
Tuesday: 4 hours with other job, 4 hours training with group of 20 and 1 hour cleanup
Wednesday: 3 hours training with other staff at college cafe, 5 hour shift at coffee bar, 3 hour meeting
This has been my week thus far. I still have a few days of regular coffee bar/ roasting work to do and a machine install on Friday Night.
Should a barista be able to have a grasp on all processes of coffee, or do we need to be narrowly focused on the craft of preparation? Should trainers just be trainers? Should baristas just work the bar? Should machine technicians just fix machines?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike McGinness on
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Too much is too much when you start resenting what you're doing. It sounds like your passion for coffee is fueling your Journey and the broader your knowledge base the better. But burn out can be real and I have to force myself to make time for personal areas of my life. When/if you open your own place at times you may think back fondly to your current hours being a walk in the park:-)
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Permalink Reply by Jessica Ramsey on
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No way. I do not think so, at least... I want to know everything I can, so loss of a little sleep here or there is no problem for me. And I have noticed that when a barista gets away from the counter, the miss it too much. For example a barista turned trainer or barista learning roasting...They usually want more than just that.
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Permalink Reply by Andi C. Trindle on
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I think everyone is different. Depth of passion isn't always measured by time spent or interest in doing outside things (like making enough tough time for sleep) or not. Wanting/getting to learn about different aspects and areas of the industry is part of the greatness of coffee (why I've never been bored ever), but I don't think everyone has to do everything intensely or be an expert in all things. Find what you love and focus on it and spend a little time learning more about the rest of it over time. There's plenty of it (time) if you are here to stay.
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Permalink Reply by Jason Dominy on
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Nowadays you have to be skilled in all areas of coffee/espresso. On any given day, I am handling a wholesale account problem, training a new barista, designing a layout for a new coffeehouse, trying to locate new business, leading a cupping or other coffee education class, taking a part a superautomatic to put hoses back on that blow off because the customer refuses to clean the machine, sampling/tasting new coffees and blends for our customers, planning a huge SCAA event, pouring latte art, to explaining to someone the three coffee growing regions and the inherent differences between the three. From time to time, I jump behind the bar at one of our wholesale customers shops, just to get the thrill of doing it, and love having the flexibility to do that.
I really think baristas have to know all they can about coffee, not just espresso, and roasters should know about espresso. The trainer should know it all, and if you don't know something, know who to contact that does. I didn't know how to take a part that Jura superautomatic, but I knew who did, and as a personal sidenote, Paul from Advanced Brewing Machines (which is the Jura importer) died this week, and it makes me very sad. He was a great tech, who had great patience, and when he said he would do something, he did, and that's says alot in this industry. He was always the guy who walked me through the maze of the intricacies of a complex superautomatic. A good guy.
The thing I like about my job most is that it's a new challenge everyday, but you know what, it keeps things fresh and exciting. And that's why I like it.
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Jessica Ramsey said:... barista learning roasting...They usually want more than just that.
I really got chuckle out of that. Usually want more than just roasting.
It's easy to turn beans brown, it's a life long journey learning to roast each different bean different crop year different picking same year different length of time even same bag-o-beans has been around ad infinitum to make them sing! If you think being a barista is challenging and demanding (which it is) get involved in artisan roasting... IMO it's far easier to learn the basics of pulling shots than roasting based on roasting going on scant 9 years and follower of the Dark Side going on 7.
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Permalink Reply by Ryan Knapp on
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One of the difficult things I think in spreading yourself across so many area's in the industry is that I don't think it is impossible to excel in your fullest potential. I think it is possible to be a good barista, a good roaster, a good wholesaler, etc. But I don't think it is possible to excellent in all of those areas. If possible I think it is a good idea to try to concentrate most in the area you excel in and are most passionate about. It is always important to protect yourself from burnout.
That being said I'm currently working as a barista, a trainer, a manager and a roaster:-/. But I'm working on it.
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Permalink Reply by Mitch Buckner - Bella Caffe on
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Wed. morning 9AM I drove my trailer up the street to setup for a big fair. Spent the day around there figuring out plans & getting this together as well as running around getting product together. Drive 100 miles to meet up with a new distributor to pick up about 15 cases of product...get home 12:30AM. Thursday morning, back to the fair grounds to start officially setting up my trailer....no power all day so I can only do about half of my setup. Spend the rest of the day helping a fellow concessionaire ( that sells fried foods) setup his gig & then head home with him to help out some more (Im to a point I cant do anymore until Friday & until my power gets setup). I work with him until about 1AM & head home to do some computer work for my menus. Friday morning get up & leave out about 10AM. Head to Sams to get milk & cups. Head to Fairgrounds, still no power! Get everything setup while waiting on power, 2PM, gates open & I try to start selling. Open till 11:30 & then to walmart to pickup a few things. Home & in bed finally at 1:45AM. Get up Saturday morning at 7, head to fairgrounds & open up by 8:30. Worked till 12:45 this morning. Getup this morning at 10 (an hour late!!!!) & rush to fairgrounds, open at 11:30 & work till 11:30 tonight (I let my employee close tonight). Sitting here drinking a beer & typing. Will try to wind down (I've had so much caffeine this weekend Im pretty much running espresso in my veins) & get to sleep in the next hour. Get up at hopefully 7:30 tomorrow & will be open till after 11 tomorrow night. Tuesday is the first day I"ll get a little break in the morning, will probably have to leave home to start getting ready at about 11. Same Wed, & Thursday. All 3 days I will work till 11. A few of those days I've gotta find time to get some things ready for my next show (fix a tent, restock, get a few supplies, go get a temporary health permit, etc). Friday morning I'll be up by 6AM to setup another show which has to be fully setup by 12:30PM cause I gotta be back at the Fairgrounds by 12:30 to get ready to open there for business & work there till after midnight. Saturday morning, be at Sams by 7AM to restock milk & be back at 2nd new festival to pen by 7:30. Send my employee to fairgrounds to open & run that booth. I'll be at 2nd festival till 7PM & then head to fairgrounds to relieve him so I can close after midnight. Sunday morning, be at 2nd festival by 8AM & send employee to fairgrounds to open up there. Start tearing down 2nd festival about 6PM & hopefully have it done by 8:30. Head to fairgrounds to relieve employee & close hopefully by 10PM. Get up Monday morning & head to fairgrounds to tear down & clean up. Take off Tuesday. Wed. start getting ready for the next weekend (health permit, supplies, restock product, etc) Thursday night & Friday night I have 2 catering gigs. Friday I also have to setup for the next big festival which starts 7AM saturday. Work that festival till about 7:30PM & spend the next 2 hours tearing it down & heading home. Sleep all day Sunday! Get back up Monday morning & keep it going like that for the next 7 weekends! Thats how my days look pretty much from here till mid November. Granted, I own the business....but I get paid less than my employees!!! :-) But I love it! Oh, and I'll probably take a week vacation in November. One of the perks to having a mobile business & not a brick & mortar, if I need some time off, I just dont book a gig. Or take time off when I just cant find anything work doing that week. But I will say that doing this mobile thing, I've learned alot of new skills that I didnt use much in my old store. I know alot more about electricity (especially in a trailer), plumbing (although I had to use plenty of that in my store), machine fixing (it would amaze you how hard traveling is on espresso machines & grinders! I've had to take a grinder down twice in the last 2 weeks to get it to run right!) Weather forcasting (a very big thing!), & a bunch more. So I've had to take on many hats myself. Not to mention just the simple running of the business, training, slinging mud, etc. I've got 1 major employee & I'll rely on him to do alot of the stuff as well. I want to be able to count on him if I do have a second gig & have to leave him to run things at a busy show. If a machine goes down, I want him to be able to grab a screwdriver & try to fix it. He puts in long hours with me too sometimes. Especially in out of town shows, theres nowhere for him to go. If we're open for 16 hours, we're both there for 16 hours. Of couse, if we arent too busy he'll go off to the truck to take a nap or read a book, but that opportunity doesnt arise often. He also gets paid for all his time. If we put in 50 hours in a weekend, he'll get paid for 50 hours. If we arent busy but he's stuck with me cause we're out of town & I cant just send him home early, he gets paid. Again, its a hard life but we love it. In the future, he'll know what needs to know to open his own place (if he wants to after seeing what we do!) or maybe go in to partership with me. You can always look at doing all of this extra work as education. I had a job once that I worked about 70 hours a week (sometimes more) and did everything from manage/hire/fire/dishwash/clean bathrooms/cook/schedule/stock/order/everything in between & it was hard. Every day I was getting another job added to my belt. Shoot, we even built out a new restaurant once. I remember managing 2 restaurants at one time, spending all morning & day at one, & then heading across the street to the other & working all night (at the time, it was a small place that was full & booked solid all the time). I was the manager but I was also the head server. I took over half of the tables in the restaurant plus I had to know what was going on at the other tables. When I had 2 minutes available, I would take off my apron, walk out the back door, walk across the street to the other restaurant & do a loop to make sure things where going well there. Then walk out the back of that restaurant & walk in the front of the other & go straight to my tables & pick up where I left off. I once was closing up when a couple walked in. The chef/owner said we could take care of them & told me to do so. He then headed out the door. I found myself serving the table & heading to the kitchen to cook their food. Now this was a fine Italian restaurant, Im not talking about a sandwich shop! There was actual cooking to be done! I also remember a time that I had a full restaurant & full section & something happened to the pantry cook (this is the person that handles all cold appetizers & desserts) I found myself serving all of my tables & doing everyones apps & desserts in the restaurant. We also once had a sous chef not show up on a busy night. I found myself thrown in at the stove cooking the whole night. I look back at how much work I did there (and how little I got paid!) but I always think of it as a learning experience. I learned so much while I was there. I could walk into that restaurant (or any otherone) and pick up any position & know how to do it. I still know every recipe for all of the food he does. The desserts where incredible (and I was the dessert chef too by the way). When he taught me how to make each dessert I learned more than I could have paid any school to teach me. I still use those recipes today. So, look at it this way. Anything you are doing now is knowledge hopefully to help you in your future. Hopefully in this case your future is coffee!! Otherwise, you're just working your butt off!!! Wow, this is a long message! Sorry, as I said, Im wired & exhausted. Cant bring myself to get into bed & just lay there staring at the ceiling even though I need to sleep. So, I guess this coffee A.D.D. comes out in my typing!! Congratulate yourself if you've made it to the end of this horrible rambling. Im done now!
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Permalink Reply by Troy Lucas on
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Chris, you've really opened a can of worms, and from all the responses so far, you can see there's a lot of us that wonder the same thing.
"BURNOUT" is when you're doing too much and not enjoying the industry anymore. If you feel yourself approaching that stage, you really need to prioritize and figure out what you most enjoy, and then maybe consider giving up some of the rest or hiring someone to help out. This industry goes in so many different directions that it's easy to be pulled away from your true industry passion.
For me, I LOVE roasting, but I've missed the day-to-day interactions with lots of people -- more than just my clients as I'm doing sales calls. So, I'm in the midst of managing a coffee bar at night on a college campus to help balance that -- sleep is secondary for me, as I don't need much. BUT, that detracts from the time I have with my family. SO, it's a balancing act.
Directly to your original question -- I think being multi-talented is really important, but it all depends on your goals. I want to eventually become one of the people that everyone turns to for industry help because of my broad industry knowledge, but I also plan on hiring the best team available so I don't have to be the only one to turn to. So, my final word is try to surround yourself with the best possible people you can find that have a passion for coffee, and then turn them loose after you've trained them to grow to their heart's content. Life is about growth and enjoyment -- if your not experiencing either at the moment, look in a different direction. BUT, I hope we don't lose you from the industry because you sound pretty passionate to me.
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Permalink Reply by Chris DeMarse on
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this is great... i write a loaded question and get a lot of great responses. I also have a job outside coffee working in a church, so I never lack people interaction. There is a lot of emotional energy that goes into all my work and I have a hard time saying "no", so sometimes I find myself needing to re-prioritize my work. I love it all and want to understand, at least at a cursory level, all that goes on in coffee from seed to cup. I want to travel and buy green someday, but I also want to fix machines, but I also want to work bar shifts, but I also want to train people. I just have to make sure that it's all balanced. We all do, because good work can still just feel like work when you do too much.
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One thing you've got to make sure Chris is that your Boss isnt taking advantage of you. Someone can feel that their employee is willing to do everything & take advantage of that. Whether its on purpose or not, they can still do it. I've had alot of friends in the past that have complained to me about their retail job that their boss keeps asking them to cover shifts. They always say yes so their boss always comes back to them & ask them again next time because they know they are willing to do it. Yet they keep saying they can cover & keep complaining about it. Their Boss may not be doing this to take advantage of them purposefully but they still are. They know they cant say no & they keep asking them. Its easy to go to the person that cant say no. The same thing could happen to you. Yes, you are willing to go the extra mile, you are wanting to learn everything there is to learn, & your boss could see that & keep putting the hard stuff & the extra stuff on you because they know you will do it. Again, they may not be doing it to really take advantage of you, but in the end they are. They see that you are someone willing to go the extra mile where noone else will, so they keep coming to you to do this stuff. At some point, you'll have to figure out when is enough enough & tell them you cant keep doing this. Until then, learn the crap out of it!! Learn everything you can because someone with knowledge is someone to be reckoned with. Experience is the best thing in the world & you'll only get experience by doing it. If you can handle it, get all the experience you can. But dont let your boss thing they can misuse you because you are so willing to do everything. Only you know when too much is too much.
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And to add to the discussion, I would say don't take on more than you can and still give 100% to each thing. I always have lots of irons in the fire, but I am sure to not take on more than I can do to the best of my ability. The hardest thing to say sometimes is "No", or "I can't", but sometimes you just have to do it.
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